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Mitt Romney

06/17/2014

It was Mitt Romney like you've never seen him. Loose, stress free and clearly with elective politics behind him.

Romney, the last GOP nominee for President of the United States came to Virginia to help out his old friend an early supporter. Former Lt. Governor Bill Bolling- who clearly seems to be keeping his political future open- hosted his annual "Burgers with Bill" event, which quickly became an endorsement rally for Senate candidate Ed Gillespie.

Romney did more than just make a quick speech and exit stage right. He worked the crowd for quite a while and then held a free wheeling press gaggle afterward. A sharp departure from the rigid management of a national campaign for office.

In his speech, Romney hammered the Obama administration on both foreign policy and domestic issues and made a passionate case to elect Gillespie and replace Mark Warner (D). As always with Warner, Romney did they typical GOP qualification of describing Warner as a "nice guy", but someone who sides with Harry Reid and President Obama too much.

Afterward, Romney emphatically rejected the notion of another campaign for President and gave his support to Dave Brat, the man who upset House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

You can see the full press gaggle below:

Key moments:

*2:22 Romney closes the door on presidential run

*3:14 Romney talks about Cantor loss/ endorses Brat

*4:10 Gillespie talks about Cantor loss impacts his race

*5:30 Romney talks about expanding GOP Map in fight for Senate

All three men agree that in order for the GOP to attain it's lofty goals for November not just here in Virginia, but across the country- it must find a way to get all their many factions headed in the right direction.

How they plan to do it, was my story for NBC12:

GLEN ALLEN, VA (WWBT)- Depending on who you talk to the Republican Party is in shambles or on the brink of a huge wave.

There is no greater indication of that disconnect than here in Richmond.

On the heels of Eric Cantor's stunning loss party leaders are trying to bring together their various factions to prepare for a push to November. And in order to come together they took a step back into their past. But they started that process without one key figure.

No- it wasn't 2012.

"Please give a warm Richmond welcome to Governor Mitt Romney," said former Lt. Governor Bill Bolling on a hot night in Glen Allen.

Mitt Romney is still a big draw and while he has no plans to run for president he had a message Tuesday night for a fractured Republican party.

"Republicans will come together," he said. "because it matters right now the country matters."

Romney comes to a Virginia still reeling from the loss of the GOP's most powerful politician. Bolling's "Burgers with Bill" event is a who's who of GOP establishment. A wing of the party Cantor was a member of and a section not necessarily supportive of new nominee Dave Brat.

"We've got a good candidate running for congress here in the 7th district," Romney said of Brat. "And we're going to get behind him."

But that candidate did not attend Tuesday's event after returning to the campaign trail that morning. He now runs on a ticket headlined by Senate candidate and former Bush advisor Ed Gillespie. While Brat ran against many of the things the GOP establishment stands for, Gillespie argues they agree on much more than they do with Democrats.

"(Voters) see that this as their opportunity to put the breaks on some awful policies," said Gillespie.

11/01/2012

If you were ever wondering what impact the Electoral College has on the race for president, today's line of attack by Mitt Romney and subsequent response from the Obama campaign are perfect examples.

(Mitt Romney visited a closed down Bill's BBQ)

The Electoral College system, which divides the states up into a series of individual contests, forces the candidates for president to dive down deep into local issues. On Thursday Romney visited the shuttered Richmond institution Bill's BBQ, and released this web ad blaming at least some of the companies struggles on the Obama administration:

But while the owners of Bill's put their support behind Romney, another prominent Barbecue restaruant, Buz & Ned's defended the president. They say their business is thriving, in part to a series of small business loans provided by the federal government. Their latest one came during the Obama administration and allowed them to open a new facility in the West End.

The battle is one only a Richmonder could care about and it shows just how important this campaigns consider you vote.

Here is my story for NBC12:

CAROLINE COUNTY, VA (WWBT)- Not only are the candidates for president
spending a lot of time in Virginia, they are now talking about issues that only
people here would care about. In his visit to
Caroline County, Mitt Romney launched a new attack against President Obama and
used a Richmond based business to illustrate his point.

Sometimes it seems like
the Electoral College turns people running for president into city council
candidates.

Every vote in Virginia,
and even Richmond, is so important they need to connect with you on something
you are familiar with.

Like your favorite
barbeque.

The clock is running out and the
campaigns are pulling out all the stops. Mitt Romney rolled into an Exhibition
Hall at the Meadow Event Park in his campaign bus. He then fired up the crowd.

"I know the president wants to
see four more years and that is his chant 4 more years, 4 more years,” he said.
“But our chant is this, 5 more
days."

It was a message loyal republicans in
attendance wanted to hear, but the overall theme of the rally was much more
than that.

Romney put a special emphasis on small
business and he drove home that point by highlighting a Richmond based
business.

This morning the Romney team released
a web video, featuring the Richmond institution Bill’s BBQ. The business shut
down completely a few weeks ago. The owner told Romney in a visit before the candidate
came to Caroline, that the Obama Administration is to blame for at least part
of her company’s struggles.

"She said taxes, federal regulation
and then she also said Obamacare," said Romney during his stump speech. "Those three things are crushing small
business."

At its height Bill’s employed around
200 people. Now every single restaurant is closed. But not everyone believes that
is Barack Obama's fault. Buz and Ned's another Richmond barbecue is thriving.
They just opened a second location, thanks in part to a federal small business
loan.

"We benefited directly from the government's
ability to help small business," said Buz Grossberg, the Owner of Buz and Ned's. "Through, the S-B-A, small business administration we have loans."

10/30/2012

The 2012 campaign has been set on pause in Virginia as Super Storm Sandy ripped through the East Coast. Now that the storm has moved on, and the impact on the Commonwealth has been minimal, both campaigns for president are ready to get back to the business at hand. Especially with election day now less than a week away.

The republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney had hoped to visit Virginia last Sunday, but postponed his trip because of Sandy. Today his campaign announced a three stop swing to take place on Thursday. Romney will visit, Roanoke, the Richmond area end with a rally in Virginia Beach.

Romney's Richmond area visit will take place in Doswell at the Meadow Event Park. That is the same location where the State Fair takes place.

The candidate is asking for supporters to bring a food donation to aid in the recovery to Sandy.

Tickets are available on a
first-come, first-served basis at the following locations starting on
Wednesday, October 31, from 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM EDT, and will continue if tickets
are still available on Thursday, November 1, from 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM EDT.

10/27/2012

The GOP Nominee for president, Mitt Romney, has decided against braving degrading weather conditions on the East Coast and canceled his two remaining events in Virginia set for Sunday.

Romney had scheduled a three stop swing through the Commonwealth on Sunday that started in Northern Virginia, included a visit to the University of Richmond and ended in Virginia Beach. The campaign canceled the Virginia Beach stop on Friday.

Saturday, after consulting with Governor Bob McDonnell, they decided to just cancel the entire swing. Romney will got to Ohio, which is increasingly seen as the state that will decide the election, instead.

McDonnell called Romney's decision "prudent".

"We have been in regular communication with the Romney campaign and they determined that it would be best for public safety in the state that they cancel their events," McDonnell said.

It seems that the decision was as much about drawing public safety personnel away from the disaster recovery as it was about the safety of the campaign and its guests. Presidential campaign visits require a great deal of police and fire department cooperation and the McDonnell administration suggested to the Romney team that they didn't want to be left short staffed if things got ugly.

McDonnell was grateful.

"I thank them for this decision and appreciate their concern for public safety in Virginia," he said.

In leiu of a visit, the Romney campaign is asking its supporters to donate bottled water and non-perishable food to help recovery efforts once the storm blows through. The campaign will then provide the supplies to local resoucre centers in need.

It is hard to tell how this will impact Romney's campaign in Virginia. While many polls show him with an edge, he is by no means a clear favorite. This swing was designed to pump up his standing in the polls. However a trip to Ohio, which is increasingly becoming a vital battleground, won't hurt him either.

The big issue for the Romney team is that time is running out. Depending on how bad this storm ravages Virginia, a return visit to the state may not be possible until after Halloween at the earliest.

In fact the Board of Elections is already preparing for power outages extending all the way to election day.

Sandy proves that no matter how much a campaign prepares, you never know what can happen.

10/24/2012

As the electoral map begins to take shape it is becoming more and more clear that the GOP ticket must have Virginia to have any hope of capturing 270 electoral votes.

To that end, the Romney/Ryan campaign in coordination with the Republican Party of Virginia has set off on an unprecedented effort to get voters to the polls on election day. A key part of that effort includes numerous opportunities to see both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in Virginia over next several days.

The big one for Richmond area voters will be Romney's visit to the University of Richmond on Sunday. Romney will hold a Rally at the Robin's Center that will take place at around 4pm. It is part of a three stop swing for the GOP nominee that will start in Northern Virginia and end in Virginia Beach.

Here are the full details of the Romney visit to Richmond:

Event: Governor Romney Attends Richmond Victory Rally

Location:
Robins Center at the University of Richmond

Doors Open:
2:15 PM EDT

Invite Time:
4:15 PM EDT

Program Time:
4:40 PM EDT

Tickets:
Tickets may be picked up at the following locations during the following times:

Before Romney gets to the Commonwealth, his running mate Paul Ryan will embark on a run of his own. Ryan will spend Thursday in the far Southwest corner of Virginia with a stop in Bristol and then travel to Charlottesville for an event that evening. In total that makes five stops between the ticket just this week.

10/19/2012

It has happened several times over the course of the history of the presidential politics. A candidate captures more of the popular vote, but falls short in the electoral college. The candidate that achieves the dreaded "split" enjoys the support of more Americans, but is also not the president of the United States.

A few polls are leaning in that direction so we asked the manager of Vice President Al Gore's 2000 campaign if it could happen again. Donna Brazile would know, because it happened to her.

Here is our full story on the electoral/popular vote split for NBC12:

RICHMOND (WWBT)- Could it happen again?

12 years ago, in one of the closest elections in presidential history, George W. Bush was elected president, despite losing the popular vote. He won enough electoral votes, which was enough to win.

In 2012, some polls show Mitt Romney pulling ahead nationwide, but he still trails President Barack Obama in several swing states.

No one remembers the 2000 election better than Donna Brazile.

Brazile was the campaign manager for Al Gore, the Vice President and democratic nominee. More people voted for Gore than Bush, but not in the right states and Gore lost.

"In those non-battlegrounds states, we call them red states or blue states like California President Obama has maybe a 12 point lead, while in states like Alabama or Mississippi where I'm from Governor Romney might have a 12 to 15 point lead," said Brazile.

In those solid states, many of which are heavily populated, Romney could run up the score, but max out on electoral votes. If he falls short in a state like Ohio or here in Virginia, He doesn't get a single electoral vote.

"Yes,” said Brazile. “There could be a scenario where what we call a "split" vote happens."

A split like that has happened three times, 2000, in 1888 and 1876. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that isn't something either campaign is worried about.

"The most important thing for us to do over the next 18 days is to worry about the issues, talking about the issues and making sure people understand the stakes,” he said. “If we do that, Governor Romney is going to win all of it."

Brazile agrees, voters care more about the economy and jobs than electoral math.

10/16/2012

For close supporters of Mitt Romney, the first debate was no fluke. It was a vindication of their support of a candidate they have been behind from the beginning. They are confident that the expectations are not too high for the GOP nominee, and he is capable of pulling off another impressive performance.

We talked live Tuesday on NBC12 First at 4 with Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz. Chaffetz is a strong Romney supporter and one of his top surrogates. He told us he was confident that Romney would perform well tonight and he responded to criticism that his candidate is loose with the facts.

Our full interview can be seen below:

Don't forget to join our liveblog tonight during the debate. Contribute directly on DecisionVirginia.com or use #DecVA on twitter.

10/12/2012

It wasn't an overwhelming crowd. But for a weekday morning at a location that wasn't incredibly convientent, GOP nominee for president Mitt Romney drew close to 4 thousand people to the Mobility Supercenter on Midlothian Turnpike.

Romney was clearly relaxed and energized. It was clear he was working to build on his campaign's newfound momentum. He chided the Obama administration on Libya, promised to repeal and replace Obamacare and called for the need for a "Real Recovery".

His supporters believe he is in a position to win in Virginia.

Here is my story for NBC12:

CHESTERFIELD (WWBT)- It is crunch time in the race for president and Mitt Romney is hoping to take advantage of every available moment. The GOP nominee was in two swing states Friday, and that included a stop in Chesterfield.

Virginia has become a crucial piece of any scenario that could lead to a Romney win. Polls show Romney surging in Virginia and the crowd that saw him this morning believes he can win. The Romney campaign has a renewed energy, and it was on display in Chesterfield.

“Mitt, Mitt, Mitt,” the crowd cheered as he we introduced on stage.

The GOP nominee built the case that he is well positioned to win the White House in November.

"He (President Obama) says you can't fix Washington from the inside you need to be on the outside,” Romney said. “Well we are going to give him that chance."

Romney spoke to a decent, but not overwhelming, crowd of roughly four thousand supporters. Supporters who have no doubt that he can win.

"There is a really groundswell going on right now,” said Bob McCrocklin. “If you haven't noticed."

Rose Jones sees it as well.

"When you see people on the street they are talking” she said. ‘They are saying that this country needs a new direction."

But while most polls show things have improved for the republican, the race is still extremely tight. Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt argues that undecided voters will still break for the president.

"Take a close look at the difference between Governor Romney's words, and the implications of the policies he's proposed along the campaign trail," LaBolt challenged.

We have seen the polls and listened to the pundits, but this morning we may get our first real sense of just how serious Mitt Romney's momentum is in the race for president.

The campaign has set up a significantly large venue in anticipation of the GOP nominee's visit and a big crowd on a Friday morning could give us an idea if his supporters truly think he has a chance to defeat Barack Obama.

In addition to the space you see here in front of and in back of the stage there is a huge swath of space behind the press riser to accommodate a large crowd. As of 9:30 this morning there were pretty big lines of people waiting to get into the space, which is behind the Mobility Supercenter on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield, just West of Chippenham Parkway.

Most polls show the race in Virginia locked in a dead heat. The Commonwealth is a must win for Romney, especially because his prospects in Ohio don't look as good as they do here.

We will be here all day and stream his speech live on NBC12.com. It is expected to start just afternoon 12pm. We also be live on NBC12 News at Noon with a live look at how the crowd is reacting to the event.

Don't forget to follow me on twitter for frequent updates during the event.

10/08/2012

It was a good day for Ann Romney to be in Central Virginia. She has spent months on the campaign trail working specifically to convince women voters that her husband is worth supporting. For months Mitt Romney has trailed in almost every poll with women. However his recent impressive performance in last week's debate has allowed him to turn a corner with female voters.

A new Pew Research Poll, not only shows Romney with a 49%-45% lead overall with likely voters, it also shows him tied with Barack Obama with women voters 47%-47%. That same poll taken last month showed the president with an 18 point lead.

Of course that is just one poll, taken at a high point in the Romney campaign, but is has republicans encouraged.

Mrs. Romney brought a message of economic prosperity under a Romney administration to women in Chester. She visited a popular botique and rallied volunteers at a local victory office.

(We spoke with Ann Romney on board a Romney campaign bus)

I spoke one on one with Mrs. Romney and we talked extensively about her outreach to women and the impact that is having on the campaign.

Here is my story for NBC12:

She has become an important part of
Mitt Romney's campaign for president. Ann Romney was in Central Virginia Monday,
hoping to boost her husband's prospects with an important voting bloc.

For much of the campaign,
polls show Mitt Romney trailing with women voters.

His wife has been given
the task of closing that gap.

In a one on one interview,
she told NBC12 that her husband has the best plan for women of America.

Mrs. Romney spends a lot of time
talking to women, she believes she knows what their top concerns are when it
comes to the 2012 presidential election.

While the Obama campaign makes Mitt Romney's
record on social issues like abortion and contraception, a focal point of their
attacks, Mrs. Romney said her husband’s focus is the economy. She believes most woman voters are as well.

"So many women are coming to our
events,” she said. “So many women are
voting for Mitt and they are focused on issues than were different that what
drove them to the polls four years ago."

In 2012, Mrs Romney argues, the
economy is the dominant issue.

"The numbers aren't really
reflective of what is going on out there,” she said referring to the September
jobs report that showed unemployment dropping to a four year low. “There are a
lot of people that are really hurting."

And there is evidence; Governor Romney
is making some inroads with women. A new Pew Research poll released Monday
shows Romney and Obama tied 47- 47 with female voters.

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt
said the president will continue to show a clear contrast on issues of concern
to women.

"Many female voters are offended by the
positions that Mitt Romney has taken during this campaign," he said, pointing
to Romney’s positions on abortion and contraception.